Baymax, the turtle later called Baymax, weighed in at 388 pounds. He is 50 years old.
A second chance for a huge loggerhead turtle!
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission saved a loggerhead turtle that was in distress from the waters around the Port St. Lucie Power Plant on May 22. Zoo Miami, just finished building a sea turtle hospital in Miami, was contacted by the agency to help the marine animal. The zoo was eager to help its first turtle patient and agreed.
The turtle, weighing 388 lbs, arrived at the Florida Zoo’s hospital with an estimated age of 50. Experts at the hospital believe that the turtle was attacked by a shark before she was saved. She had a severe injury to her front flipper and the only bone and flesh left.
Zoo Miami was not the only one to be surprised by the extent of the injury; hospital veterinarians discovered that the turtle was also full of eggs.
“By Tuesday morning she had deposited more than 100 eggs, which were carefully collected by staff from Miami-Dade Parks Sea Turtle Conservation Program with FWC approval and then transported to a man-made nest for incubatorization,” Zoo Miami explained on Instagram.
The facility said that although some eggs were not likely to hatch from water, some eggs may be fertile and could hatch.
After more examinations at the hospital, Baymax, the turtle was finally admitted to surgery to repair her injuries. Zoo Miami stated that the main purpose of the surgery was “to remove the damaged bone and to treat the amputated leg in a manner that would help prevent infection. This will give the turtle a better chance at healing.”
Baymax was a great patient during surgery. The procedure also revealed more about Baymax’s health to her caregivers. “The ultrasound exam showed that Baymax still had many eggs in her and some of them came out during surgery,” Zoo Miami reported. “They were placed in a container of sand so they could be transported as the rest.”
